Crawler tractor devices run on endless loops of connected track segments which are carried by rollers and driven by drive sprockets. The drive sprockets are mounted on final drive shafts which protrude from a final drive housing. The drive shaft and its associated sprocket rotate relative to the surrounding housing or case which encases the drive gears. The rotary motion of the final drive shaft and its sprocket tend to pick up strands of wire which are encountered in the operation of the crawler tractor. This is particularly troublesome in landfills or other operations where scrap pieces of wire are found. As the wire is picked up, jammed between the drive sprocket and case and wound ever and evermore tightly around the drive shaft, the accumulation of wound wire scraps becomes so large and bulky that it impedes the operation of the crawler tractor. In these instances, it has been necessary or expedient to cut accumulated wire with a cutting torch to remove it from the shaft. This is a time-consuming process which adds to the cost of maintenance of the crawler equipment involved.
As lengths of scrap wire are often found in landfills, there is a continuing problem of wire removal when it collects on the drive shaft of the final drive. Also, it will be appreciated that scraps of wire can be found in virtually any situation in which a crawler tractor is used, particularly if it is one of the bulldozer type.